Sparks returns to Art House Cafe Monday promoting new album

Award-winning and internationally acclaimed Nashville songwriter Tori Sparks will return to play in Rome for show on Monday at 7:30 p.m. in the Art House Café at the RomeArt and Community Center, 308 W. Bloomfield St.

Sparks has toured through Rome and the surrounding area a number of times, including the Women’s Right to Rock Fest in Seneca Falls. Her new album The Scorpion in the Story is just out and features an all-star cast of musicians, including Viktor Krauss (Lyle Lovett, Mindy Smith, Allison Krauss), David Henry (R.E.M., Ben Folds, Josh Rouse, Widespread Panic, Cowboy Junkies), Steve Bowman (Counting Crows), Will Kimbrough (Rodney Crowell), Fats Kaplin (Mark Knopfler, Kevin Welch), and Barry Walsh (Gretchen Peters).

The Scorpion in the Story is a concept album, a tour diary recording Sparks’ experiences on the road in 2008. Each song was written about a real person, in a different city all over the United States. A map charting her path is included in the album art. Scorpion also includes bonus track "Le Manege," the French version of the song "Merry Go-Round."

Tori’s exposure in Europe last year as a result of the success of her song "Cold War" on Universal Music France’s compilation Country Vol. 2 inspired the bilingual artist to delve into singing in her second language. The music video for "Merry Go-Round" was shot on a 100-year-old carousel and features the Nashville Rollerderby Girls.

Tori broke out in 2007 with her album Under This Yellow Sun, which was licensed to MTV, Lifetime, and the Oxygen Network and featured on the Paste New Music Sampler # 43 alongside artists such as Elvis Costello. The album was included on the long list of potential Grammy nominees for 2008 in several categories.

On the net: www.romeart.org http://www.torisparks.com http://www.myspace.com/torisparks